Nitish Kumar criticises Prime Minister’s silence on Manipur incident

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday slammed Prime Minster Narendra Modi for keeping mum on the Manipur situation and said this was why the no-confidence motion against his government had been put forth in Parliament by Opposition parties.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday slammed Prime Minster Narendra Modi for keeping mum on the Manipur situation and said this was why the no-confidence motion against his government had been put forth in Parliament by Opposition parties.

Mr. Nitish Kumar said PM Modi was panicked by the Opposition’s unity in forming the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and added that now the Opposition parties would not “allow anyone to change the history of the nation”.

“The Prime Minister should speak on behalf of the government on no-confidence motion brought up by the Opposition parties. PM has repeatedly been [asked] to [turn his] attention towards the incident that [took place in [Manipur] where women were disrobed. The Opposition is speaking unitedly over this but, he [the Prime Minister] is keeping mum,” Mr. Kumar said, speaking to media persons after paying tributes to martyrs of Kargil war at Kargil Chowk in Patna.

Speaking about PM Modi making jibes about the name of the INDIA coalition, Mr. Kumar said, “this reflects how he feels [that there is] trouble ahead. My suggestion will be that we [Opposition parties) should discuss everything now, like who will fight from where and against whom, and begin to make policy.

“Since the Opposition has make a coalition, they [BJP-led NDA] have [begun to panic] and call meetings of allies with [...] parties about whom no one even knows,” Mr. Kumar said.

“They [the ruling NDA government] want to change the history of the nation, but that will not happen, as the Opposition is united now. Do they take the name of Mahatma Gandhi even once? They have a different style [of working]. [The NDA is a far cry from the time when] it was being run by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” added Mr. Kumar.

Asked about the upcoming Cabinet expansion of his government, Mr. Kumar said it was very much in the offing. According to reports, two MLAs from the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) each would be added to the Cabinet, along with some reshuffling of existing portfolios. The Congress already has two ministers in the Nitish Kumar Cabinet and 19 MLAs in the State Assembly.